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tv   Early Today  NBC  February 1, 2013 4:00am-4:30am EST

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. our wild winter weather continues this morning as we brace for a line of snow moving into the region at this moment. we're looking at what this system will bring and how it might impact your morning commute as you get ready to head out the door. good morning everybody. i'm aaron gilchrist. good morning. i'm eun yang. welcome to this friday, february 1st, 2013. you're looking live at one of the traffic cameras in northern virginia. this is i-94 north of occoquan. meteorologist tom kierein is tracking this weather system and
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he's here with more on what to expect. tom sm. >> good morning. we're getting this weak disturb an from the west. it's triggering light snow in maryland. these bright white areas in charles county, light snow beginning to fall and reach the ground southern prince george's county as well. farther south are these areas of pink mixing with a little bit of sleet or sprinkles of rain far southern maryland, southern st. mary's county. potomac, fauquier, stafford and spotsylvania, many of those locations getting light flurries right now. those are associated with winter weather advisory. all these areas in the purple color under a winter weather advisory in northern virginia, suburbs in maryland. the amount of snow expected could be affected by the temperatures. it's at or above freezing in washington. to our south, it's near a little below freezing in prince george's county and charles, calvert and st. mary's.
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farther north and west, near 30 in montgomery county. much of fairfax, arlington county into loudoun county around 30 degrees. maybe a dusting to an inch at the most in this light blue zone. that includes washington, much of fairfax, prince george's, montgomery. farther soupt, there may be up to an inch in st. mary's county, southern charles, parts of the northern neck. farther west, a couple of inches alon the blue ridge and the highlands out in west virginia. i'm here with frequent updates throughout the morning. it will change hour by hour. first 4 traffic now with danella. >> i'm tracking construction in the area. let's start with the southeast, southwest freeway. construction in both directions heading east and west. this is between main avenue and 12th street. one lane gets you by and right now that lane is the left lane. let's also talk about construction further down 395. this is between seminary road and duke street. you're going to see construction
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blocking at least one lane as well. also southbound 395. not as bad on washington boulevard. report of a disabled vehicle to the shoulder lane in that area. heading to the beltway in virginia, no construction. travel lanes are open as you make the trip. no issues towards braddock road, even looping to the american legion bridge. here's a live look at connecticut avenue. even in prince george's county around the beltway, nice and clear. aaron, over to you. >> thank you, knell nefl. melissa mollet is at the live desk. >> more than 500 firefighters, soldiers, rescue workers are digging through the rubble of that mexico city oil company building looking for survivors after an explosion there. we have new video just into the newsroom. you can see the state-owned building is circled there. an arrow is going to come in and point to the explosion in one of the buildings next door. you'll see a quick flash in the distance. 25 people died. more than 100 hurt. some reports say another 100
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could be injured and trapped inside. investigators are trying to determine if the explosion was accidental or a terrorist attack. the first two floors of the 51-story tower collapsed on thursday. this building is one of the city's tallest. as we get updates, we'll pass them along. at the live desk, melissa mollet, news 4. we're on top of a developing story in alabama. negotiators are talking with the gunman who has been holding a 5-year-old boy hostage in a bunker for three days now. 65-year-old jimmy lee dykes stormed a school bus in midland city on tuesday. he took a boy named ethan into a bunker. investigators say the boy has medicine, crayons, coloring books and a tv. negotiators have been talking to the man through a ventilation pipe in that bunker. >> it's pretty small. he's been known to stay in there eight days. we've been told. it's 4 foot underground. >> now, dykes is also accused of
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shooting and killing the school bus driver who refused to let him take the children. today, we're keeping close tabs on the labor department. it will release its january jobs report this morning. economists expect the unemployment rate to stay at 7.8% for a third straight month according to fact set. they believe the economy added about 155,000 jobs last month. it will be an emotional day at the state of illinois department tod -- state department. she'll say goodbye to state department employees. john kerry will be sworn in this afternoon as her replacement. she says she knows she's leaving it in good hands. the obama administration is ready to take a more active role in the crisis in syria. joe biden will meet with the head of the -- this will be the highest level u.s. meeting with
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syrian opposition since it began uprising nearly two years ago. more than 60,000 people have been killed in that war. defense secretary nominee chuck hagel expected to be confirmed despite a contentious confirmation hearing. he spent hours answering questions from the armed services committee in the senate. lawmakers wanted clarification on various positions hagel has taken in the past. at one point he grappled over whether he was wrong to oppose the 2007 surge in iraq. >> were you correct or incorrect when you said that the surge would be the most dangerous foreign policy blunder in this country since vietnam. >> i'm not going to give you a yes or no. it's far more complicated than that. >> if confirmed, hagel will replace leon panetta as defense secretary and be the only republican in president obama's cabinet and the first vietnam veteran to hold that position. the transportation secretary who is also a republican expected to
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resign as well. this should be wrapped up with the senate vote for chuck hagel next week. it's 4:06. a judge will decide whether to declare a mistrial days after a culpeper police officer was convicted of manslaughter. two dtionaries and a thesaurus. >> jurors looked over the definition of malice. daniel harmon-wright claimed he shot patricia cook when his arm was caught in her suv window when she tried to drive away. >> a local leader wants to crackdown on crime by banning something that many use to keep warm. faith wheeler is calling on a ban for ski masks. anyone over 16 can wear -- the attorney general says they rarely prosecute anyone under this law. still, wheeler says ski masks are often used by criminals.
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>> few criminals want to be identified. otherwise they wouldn't wear it and wouldn't runaway. it's one of many, many, many tools that could -- should be explored. >> i don't think that banning ski masks is going to reduce robberies in the district of columbia. d.c. police say they don't see it as evidence as someone's intent to commit a crime. a pilot is 234 the hospital after passing out mid-flight. it was headed from los angeles to seattle when the pilot lost consciousness. a co-pilot took over and detoured the plane to portland, oregon. paramedics met the plane on the ground. the pilot has been with the airline for 28 years. no word what made him ill. we're learning an unruly passenger forced a jet to be diverted. it was headed from new york to san diego. a woman had an issue with the flight attendant. the pilot diverted the plane to
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denver and crew members escorted the woman off the flight. the plane then continued on to california. the faa would not say what led to the unscheduled stop only a security issue and not related to terrorism. trying to keep kids safe in school. we're tracking breaking news out of china after a fiery accident leaves dozens on the highway. the aftermath could cause problems for today's commute. >> we continue to track the progress of this weather. the impact on your day next with your weather and traffic on the 1s. you can get the forecast wherever you are by downloading the storm team 4 app for your smartphone. you can also take and upload photos so others can
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right now crews in laurel working to clean up a commuter lot.
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this is what it looked like last night, covered in water. heavy rain forced the river from its banks flooding several streets of old town laurel. water has been slowly receding from the lot at the marc train station there. but crews may have to salt the area with temperatures now below freezing in laurel. let's check the forecast now. we're talking about a winter system moving through our area right now. >> storm team 4 meteorologist tom kierein has the details. >> there's the washington monument under a cloudy skies. no flurries in washington now. right now we're getting a few flurries north of washington, frederick county into washington county. panhandle of west virginia and south of washington, there are a few flurries, central shenandoah valley from rappahannock into fauquier county. southern maryland in charles county, getting a few flurries, maybe light snow beginning to coat the ground a little bit in northern charles county, southern prince george's, into central cal nert county. temperatures are near the
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freezing mark around the region. washington, nearby suburbs. we may get a dusting to an inch, maybe 1 to 2 inches in the darker blue area. along the ridges, blue ridge, some of the highlands out in west virginia. we're going to have our temperatures not warming up much today. feeling like winter time. only reaching mid-30s by mid-afternoon. the snow around by 10:00 a.m. and then sun back, gusty winds. winds blowing at about 40 miles an hour later this afternoon. seven-day joutd look is coming up at 4:21. danella has a look at traffic. >> good morning. still checking on construction in the area. if you're taking the southeast, southwest freeway. one lane is getting by in both direction ares. this is between 12th street and main avenue. use caution and expect delays getting by that work zone. i-95 in virginia now. northbound approaching fairfax county parkway. the construction there has alternate lane closures between your left lane and your right lane. i want to show you the volume as
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you head northbound passing fairfax county parkway. it's very light and should be easy to work around that work zone therement i'm back in ten minutes. aaron and eun, over to you. >> thank you, danella. will virginia leaders act to protect your children? we have the recommendations on improving school security and a look at what lawmakers have to do next. justified or just let it go? >> a new controversy over a super bowl soda ad. >> winter takes another swing at us. this is live look at union
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a windy start in the district today but it's just the beginning of the winter weather we'll see today. we have an update on when you should see snow in a few minutes. at least five people have been killed after a fire truck
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exploded along a bridge in china. it happened in the central part of the country earlier this morning. take a look at this video. the explosion sent vehicles plummeting 100 feet to the ground below. right now, crews are searching for survivors. news agencies are reporting conflicting numbers of casualties. some as high as 26. the blast was so strong, it destroyed a section of bridge 80 yards long and shattered windows of a nearby truck stop. at the live desk, melissa mollet, news 4. a middle school in atlanta could face charges for shooting a classmate. a 14-year-old was grazed by a bullet. he has been released from the hospital. a teacher was cut in the confusion after the confusion. they believe it was not random. virginia's general assembly has a new list of recommendations to consider on how to keep schools safe. a task force unveiled 22 ideas to lawmakers in richmond. among the proposals, immunity for those who report potential
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danger. record sharing between schools and criminal yus tis officials. the task force recommend assessment teams to do drills and lockdown -- >> to get the students used to knowing what do and to take it seriously. governor bob mcdonnell created the task force in response to the shootings. the task force felt the controversial idea of arming principals or security officers needed more study. the panel will issue a final report on that in june. virginia lawmakers may take a crack at closing the commonwealth's so-called gun show loophole. a senate committee will discuss a bill requiring an area for voluntary background checks to be set up at all gun shows. there would be a fee for the background checks but a gun seller would take advantage of the system would get civil immunity if the person they're selling to turns out to be banned from owning a gun. vice president joe biden
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spent much of his day pushing the gun control legislation. in a press conference, biden admitted that reducing the number of firearms in the u.s. won't prevent mass killings like december's sandy hook elementary scooting. the plan puts a ban on the assault weapons, high capacity magazines and requires all gun buyers undergo background checks. the vice president stressed that they're not a ploy to restrict americans' right to bear arms. a day of remembrance for the 10th anniversary of the space shuttle columbia disaster. a wreath laying ceremony at the kennedy space center as well. there will also be ceremonies honoring the 17 people who died in the apollo 1 disaster as well as the challenger explosion. the prince george's county fire department is launching an investigation into wednesday's beltway crash that left an 18-wheeler mangled the fire
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engine was rear ended as it made a u-turn on the beltway which is legal for emergency emergency vehicles but investigators are looking to see if the turn broke the department's guidelines on u-turns. the crash injured seven people, snarled traffic and led to a firefighter's arm being amputated in the crash and then later reattached. funeral arrangements for a civil rights pioneer are announced. christine jones died after rescuers pulled her from a burning home in temple hills last week. jones was the first african-american to represent prince george's county in the maryland general assembly. she was 83 years old. the funeral services will happen on martin luther king avenue in southeast washington. the viewing is thursday, 7 to 9:00 p.m. the service is next friday. jim moran's son will not face voter fraud charges. arlington county police and
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prosecutors say they won't charge patrick moran. an undercover video released in october appeared to show him discussing plans for fake ballots. they've closed the investigation because the person who made the video would not cooperate with them. you have one less option in yorj town. early this morning, the third edition served its very last drink. the restaurant and bar on wisconsin avenue closed after more than 40 years. the third edition kwas popular with college students and tourists. it was featured in the 1980s movie st. elmo's fire. a mexican restaurant will open in that location now. it is now 4:21. time for weather and traffic on the 1s. tom kierein is following this winter weather heading our way. tom, what's going on right now? >> the clouds are getting lower there. that's a live view from the hd city camera. starting to produce maybe a few light flurries in the district.
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temperatures are at or above freezing. initially it may not stick. we've had the surfaces pre-treated too in much of the region. initially as we look at radar, this snow moving in. these are scattered snow showers like we get rain showers in the springtime. they come and go. that's the story throughout the morning. the snow may come down for a little bit and stop and come down for a little bit more. getting it south of washington and north and west of washington. these bright white areas may be beginning to coat the ground in northern charles county, southern prince george's into calvert county. this is rapidly heading off to the east. farther west, just a few flurries now from southern fairfax county, prince william, stafford and spotsylvania down 95 and farther west of there. just a few scattered flurries much the central part of fauquier county and into rappahannock county central shenandoah valley. to the north of there, a few scattered flurries in montgomery county and farther north and west in frederick and in washington counties in maryland.
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now, temperatures, this is a critical factor, of course. right now, it is at or below freezing in montgomery county. right near or above freezing in prince george's county in the district. arlington, fairfax, much of northern virginia is right near the freezing mark. the road temperatures are going to begin to drop a little bit. initially, some of the snow may melt on roadways. but then a light coating at all. this is a minor event. in had area in the light blue, probably just get a dusting in the metro area including montgomery, prince george's, the district and arlington and fairfax. maybe up to an inch in northern parts of charles county and perhaps into prince william, an inch or so as well as into fauquier county these dark blue areas might get half inch to an inch. including part of st. mary's county, farther west of there. up to 2 inches is possible on the highest ridges along skyline drive, maybe the mountains, some
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the highlands in west virginia might get up to a couple of inches. here's how we're looking the next several days. sun back this afternoon. winds gusting to around 40 miles an hour. temperatures in the mid-30s. it will had feel like the teens and 20s with that wind. all the way to the teens on saturday morning. saturday afternoon near the freezing mark. a lot of clouds around. we'll have a lighter wind. saturday night into sunday morning, we might get another fast-moving event like this morning. maybe a dusting to an inch and ending monday morning. mid-30s on monday. still cold and cloudy. perhaps a few more flurries tuesday night into wednesday morning. highs near 40s tuesday, wednesday and thursday. i'm back in ten minutes. let's take a look at our very early morning traffic with danella. good morning. >> good morning, tom. traveling in our area, some good news. i was talking a moment ago about the construction along the southeast, southwest freeway. it's now gone. travel lanes are open in both
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directions. we'll head up to i-270 and check things out. if you're making the commute from frederick, maryland. southbound, even continuing through urbana. nice and clear. no issues in clarksburg as you make the trip passing germantown. gaithersburg in both directions, no construction. no incidents to warn you about. from the spur, connecting to the beltway, clear as well. here's a look at the beltway. the inner loop between i-270 and 95, it's early. that trip will take about ten minutes. air on and eun, over to you. >> you might want to avoid the orange and blue lines. buses will replace trains between federal center southwest and shefrly. that means the capitol south, eastern market, potomac avenue, stadium armory, minnesota avenue and deanwood stations will all be closed. there's single tracking on the red and orange lines and on the green and yellow lines sunday
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night only. commuters are getting an apology from the transit system for wednesday night's maddening commute. instead of cutting power to a stretch of smoking track, metro says an employee shut down power to a section carrying two full trains. some trapped riders got so fed up, they got off and started walking in the tunnel. metro's general manager apologized and admitted the response was not good enough. he says there is an ongoing investigation into what led to that mess. if you're getting your kids ready for school, you want to listen up right now. millions of bottles of common cough syrup are being recalled this morning. that's because of a possible poisoning risk. the child-resistant caps on triaminic and they are a flu products can open. there have been instances of children swallowing large amounts of the medicine. one required medical attention. stop using these products and contact the maker for a refund. new research shows a large majority of military personnel
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suffer from clinical sleep disorders. aside from that, 42% said they sleepless than or fewer than five hours a night. well below the recommended seven to eight hours. doctors warn, while sleep deprivation is a part of the military culture, it could lead to more accidents and cause long-term health problems. bottom's up. the u.s. is the largest wine market in the world. according to suppliers, the u.s. consumes 13% of all wine produced globally. that number is up 2% from last year. most imports apparently come from argentina. that's followed by chile and australia. wine consumption going down in france and italy. so more foreign producers are aiming for the ugs market. >> if you plan to watch the super bowl at a bar in baltimore, perhaps with a glass of wine, plan to get there early and stay late. police say closing -- will be closing streets on the hotspots to keep pedestrians safe. they'll shut down the roads at halftime. that means it could be hard to find a parking spot before the
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game or to get around town after the game. the police department is also bringing in extra officers to make sure ravens fans don't get out of hand if the team wins or loses. pop singer beyonce says she will sing live at the super bowl halftime show this weekend following the inauguration lip-synch controversy. she broke her silence yesterday by asking everyone to please stand when she began her press conference at the super bowl. >> and the home of the brave ♪ the brave ♪ >> any questions? then she dropped the microphone and walked off the stage. no she didn't. she held her press conference. she sang it a cappella in new orleans to prove she can sing, if anybody actually doubted that. she decided to sing-along with
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her voice track at the second inauguration to ensure the best possible performance. again, beyonce says she will sing live on sunday. oscar winner jennifer hudson will perform at the super bowl. she will sing america the beautiful with the choir from sandy hook elementary school in newtown, connecticut. the group will pay tribute to the children and adults killed in the shooting rampage. one of coke's biggest super bowl commercials is already sparking controversy. take a look. ♪ arab american groups are offended by this ad showing an arab in the desert racing towards a giant coke bottle. they call it racist and want coke to change it before sunday's game. the company says it had a productive conversation with arab groups but has no plans to change or pull

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